Double-barreled single-trigger firearm



1964 A. N. MILLER 3,142,925

DOUBLE-BARRELED SINGLE-TRIGGER FIREARM Filed July 8, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTQR ALLEN N. MILLER BY M ATTORNEYS g- 4, 1954 A. N. MILLER 3,142,925

DOUBLE-BARRELED SINGLE-TRIGGER FIREARM Filed July 8, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ALLEN N. MILLER BY MW ATTORNEYS rearwardly in the slot.

United States Patent 3,142,925 DOUBLE-BARRELED SINGLE-TRIGGER FIREARM Alien N. Miiler, W02 S. Orchard, Boise, Idaho Fiied duty 8, I963, Ser. No. 293,316 14 tliaims. (Cl. 42-42) This invention relates to firearms, more particularly to firing mechanism for plural-barrel guns, which are ordinarily double-barrel guns either of the side-by-side or of the over-and-under type, in which the barrels may be fired in succession upon successive intentional pulls of a single trigger. The invention is most particularly concerned with the selector mechanism for selecting the barrel to be fired.

In double-barreled single-trigger firearms, for example of the superposed double-barreled shotgun type, a pair of barrels are provided each with its own hammer, and each hammer has an individual sear. Only a single trigger is provided, however; and a single connector actuated by the single trigger is :shiftable laterally to move the selected sear to release the selected hammer to fire the selected barrel. In superposed shotguns it is conventional to provide a selector for shifting the connector laterally into conjunction with the selected sear. One conventional form of selector is mounted in a slot in the upper tang piece of the frame of the gun and is shiftable laterally in the slot and engages with an inertia block carried by the selector to shift the inertia block laterally with the selector. In this type of conventional construction the slot is also elongated forwardly and rearwardly so that the selector is slidable forwardly and rearwardly in the slot, and the selector is so associated with the inertia block that in a forward position of the selector in the slot, the inertia block and connector can move sufficiently far forward to engage with the selected sear; but in a rear position of the selector in the slot, the inertia block (and with it the selector) is restrained against forward movement to the extent that the connector cannot contact the scar and hence cannot release the hammer. Therefore, the forward position of the selector is an on or firing position and the rear position of the selector is an off or safety position, so that the selector functions not only as a selector but also as a safety.

In the past, in selector mechanisms of the type described above, difficulty has been encountered in accurately positioning the selector, by virtue of the fact that the selector has four positions: a left and a right forward position and a left and a right rear position. To separate the left and right forward positions from each other, so as to assure that the connector could firmly engage with one of the other of the sears, it has been conventional practice to provide a rearwardly projecting guideway tongue at the forward end of the slot, :so that the left and right forward positions of the selector are positively separated from each other by the tongue. However, difliculty has still been encountered in that it has been hard for persons using the gun to move the selector between the various positions quickly and accurately. Often, the selector becomes misaligned in the slot and jammed, or else the selector strikes the medial tongue at the forward end of the slot and does not move all the way forwardly. In either case, the gun balks and the selected barrel does not fire.

In order to improve the movement of the selector within the slot, it has been a common practice for a number of years to provide a guide block or selector block of about the same width as the slot and slidable forwardly and The selector itself straddled this block and could slide laterally relative to the block but carried the block with it forwardly and rearwardly. The

, block thus tended to guide the selector in the slot and keep it in proper orientation relative to said block. How- ELMZEZS Patented Aug. 4, 1964 ever, this guide block itself gave rise to problems in that the selector could cant relative to the guide block and become jammed so that it could not slide easily laterally relative to the guide block.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the foregoing difficulties and disadvantages. Specifically it is an object of this invention to provide selector mechanism, in the aforesaid environment, that will quickly and dependably select the barrel to be fired.

Another object of the invention is the provision of selector mechanism, in the recited environment, that will not become misaligned or jammed or otherwise cause the firearm to balk.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of selector mechanism, in the recited environment, that can be installed with no substantial modification of existing firearms. Alternatively, it is an object of the invention to provide selector mechanism enabling the simplification of existing firearm construction.

Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide firearms and more particularly selector mechanism for firearms, which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and install, easy and dependable to operate and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view partly in section showing the firing mechanism of a firearm according to the present invention in one embodiment thereof, in an on position such that when the trigger is pulled a selected barrel will be fired;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective assembly view of the trigger and connector and selector mechanism of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side cross-sectional view of the trigger and connector mechanism of the present invention;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 1 but showing the safety-selector slot and associated mechanism of conventional firearms according to the prior art;

FIGURES 6 and 7 are views similar to FIGURE 5 but showing the parts respectively in an off position and a position to fire the other barrel;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged view of an improvement connector block according to the present invention;

FIGURES 9, 10 and 11 are views similar to FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, respectively, but showing various on and off positions of mechanism according to the present invention, and

FIGURE 12 is a View similar to FIGURE 9 but showing a modified form of the present invention. In general, FIGURES 9-l1 differ from FIGURE 12 in that FIG- URES 9-11 show the adaptability of the present structure of conventional guns for use with the present invention,

, while FIGURE 12 shows a simplified construction of gun for use with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown a gun of the superposed shotgun type whose frame is indicated at I. The firing mechanism of the gun comprises a pair of hammers 3 having pivots 5 on which they are mounted for vertical swinging movement. Each hammer 3 has a sear-receiving seat or notch 7. A sear 9 is mounted for vertical swinging movement about a pivot 11 on upper tang piece 13 of frame I and has a tooth 15 that seats in notch 7 to retain hammer 3 against undesired forward movement. Sear 9 has a rearwardly extending tail piece 17 adapted to cooperate with a sear trip or connector 19.

It will of course be understood that the illustrated gun is of the superposed shotgun type and accordingly has two firing chambers and two hammers 3 one individual to each firing chamber. There is also a sear 9 individual to each hammer 3. However, onlyone of ,each of the sets of elementsis visible in FIGURE 1, for both mechanisms are cocked and ready to fire.

Hammers 3 are resiliently urged into firing position each by a main spring21 encircling a guide plunger 23, one end of spring'21 acting against a shoulder of plunger 23 to urge plunger 23 against hammer 3 and the other end of spring 21 bearing against rear tang piece 25 through which therear end of guideplunger 23 slidably extends. If desired, the forward end of guide plunger 23 may be pivotally interconnected with hammer 3.

Connector 19, adjacent its upper end, has a forwardly extending sear-engaging lug 27 provided with an upwardly facing shoulder 29. On its side surfaces, connector 19 has intermediate lugs 31 that are disposed generally in the plane and are spaced rearwardly of shoulder 29. Shoulder 29 is of a width less than the spacing between sear tail pieces 17, thereby to avoid simultaneous engagement of both sears by connector shoulder 29. On the other hand, the rear portion of connector 19 is of a width greater than the spacing between sear tail pieces 17, as seen in FIGURE 3, thereby to prevent the connector as a whole from entering the gap between the sears.

At its lower end, connector 19 is mounted on a trigger 33 pivotally mounted on the lower tang piece 35 of frame 1. Mounted on the upper end of connector 19 is an inertia block 37 provided with forwardly extending lugs 39 and 41 that are vertically spaced apart. Inertia block 37 has a vertical groove 43 in the upper surface thereof. Groove 43 is open to the front but terminates in-the rear at a shoulder 45. Adjacent its forward end, groove 43 is traversed by a short transverse groove 47 that extends vertically all the waythrough lug '39. Lugs 39 on inertia block 37 ride on lugs 49 on connector 19, while lugs 41 on inertia block 37 ride on lugs 51 on connector 19. A projection 53 at the upper end of connector 19 fits in slot 47 in inertia block 37. A small coil compression spring 55 and a spring guide 56 fit in a small bore in the front of inertia block 37 and bear against the rear of connector 19 thereby continuously yieldably to urge inertia block-37'to the rear of connector 19.

The arrangement and operation of various portions of the firing mechanism are described in greater detail in Patent No. 2,203,378, to which reference is had for other details of the structure and function of the parts.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURES 3 and 4, it will be seen that connector 19 is universally mounted on trigger 33 for longitudinal and lateral swinging movement relative thereto. The lower end of connector 19 is pivotally mounted on a pin 57 carried by a bifurcated rear end of a connector-carrying pin 58. Pin 58 is of circular cross section and is adapted to fit loosely in a cylindrical bore 59in trigger 33. A coil compression spring 61 disposed in bore 59 urges pin 58 rearwardly. A stop pin 63 bridges the gap of bore 59 on trigger 33, and the lower end of connector 19 is continuously urged against stop pin 63 by spring 61. Stop pin 63 thus prevents pin 57 from being forced rearwardly out of bore 59, and as stop pin 63 is located above thepivotal mounting pin 65 by which trigger 33 is pivotally mounted on lower tang piece 35, the force exerted by stop pin 63 will urge trigger 33 toward its lowermost position which is seen in FIG- URE 1.

Upper tang 13 is provided with a forwardly and rearwardly elongated slot 67 therethrough in which is movably disposed a selector 69. Selector 69 is actuated forwardly and rearwardly, and laterally from side to side, by means of a finger piece'71 which is integral with a body 73 that rides on and covers the upper margins of slots 67. A pair of forwardly and rearwardly spaced apart fingers 75 and 77 depend from body 73. Forward finger 75 is of FIGURE 3.

4 characterized by an upwardly rearwardly opening recess 79 on its upper rear surface, and a forwardly opening notch 81 on its forward surface a little below the recess 79.

Guide means are providedfor the lateral movement of selector 69 in slot 67, in the form of a selector guide block 83, which is a rectangular block disposed in and of substantially the same width as slot 67. Block 83 is of about the same height as recess 79 in selector 69 and the forward end of block 83 rides in recess 79. Block 83 is retained in slot 67 by the side walls of slot 67 and also by fingers 75 and 77 between which it is disposed, and by and between the'bottom of recess 79 and the underside of body 73.

Selector 69 as "a whole is maintained in slot 67' by means of a selector leaf spring 85 having a relatively narrow forward end that rides in a groove (notshown) on the underside of upper tang 13. Spring 85 has ahole87 therethrough through which finger 75 extends, a notch 81 on the forward side of finger .75 receiving the forward marginal edge of hole'87 so that selector 69 cannot move up out of slot 67 because springSS holds it-down by means of notch 81. At'its rear end, spring85 has a detent 89 in the form of an upwardly closed transverse bend in the rear end of spring'85, and detent 89 snaps selectively into one or anotherof notches91 on the underside of upper tang piece 13. Notches 91 are spaced apart from each other lengthwise of upper'tang piece 13 and the forward notch91 defines the forwardmost or on positions of selector 69 in slot 67, while the rear notch 91 defines the rearmost or off-positions of the selector in the slot.

FIGURE 5 is a view taken-on the line 55 of FIG- URE 1. With the parts in the position shown in FIG- URE 5, the firearm is ready to fire the under barrel and the safety selector is at its forward or on position. Notice that the front end of slot 67 is characterized by a pair of parallel relatively smaller slots 93 one disposed at each side of the forward end of the larger slot 67. Slots 93 areseparated from each other by a rearwardly extending projection or tongue 95. Slots 93-are of a width not substantially greater than the width of finger 75, so that when selector 69 is pushed to the left and forwardly, it will enter the left slot 93,-which is the slot shown occupied by finger 75 at the bottom of FIGURE 5 and which corresponds to the firing position for the under barrel. The other slot 93 corresponds to the firing position of the over barrel in the case of a superposed doublebarreled gun.

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 do not illustrate the present invention. Instead, they show various positions of the selector structure on which the present invention is an improvement. In FIGURE 5, as noted above, the firing mechanism is'in position to fire the under barrel. In FIGURE 6, the full and phantom line positions are safety positions in which neither barrel can fire. These safety positions arecharacterized in that the selector-69 is disposed so far to the rear that the lower end of finger 75 contacts shoulder 45 at the rear end of groove 43 in inertia block 37, which-in turn pullsthe inertia block and connector 19 so'far to therear thatshoulder 29 on the connector will pass to the rear of sear tail piece 17 upon vertical movement of the connector when the trigger is pulled.

Comparison of the full and phanton line showings of the selector fingers 75 and 77 in FIGURE 6 will make it plain that selector 69 is shiftable laterally in the rear of slot 67. Finger 75 is disposed in grooves 43 of inertia block 37 and upon such shifting of the selector, finger 75 causes inertia block 37 and with it connector19 to swing about pin 57, as can be appreciated from a consideration Accordingly, groove 43 of connector block 37 does not-remain upright but leans from side to side depending upon which barrel of'the firearm is selected for firing. However, finger 75 remains upright; and accordingly, it is advisable to guard against finger 75 binding in groove 43 as these parts turn through small acute angles relative to each other. To this end, therefore, a horizontal bore 97 that opens through the rear of connector block 37 is provided immediately below groove 43, so that the lower end of finger 75 can rock in the enlargement provided by bore 97 without binding against the edges of groove 43. At the same time, the width of groove 43 can be maintained not much more than the thickness of finger 75, thereby to reduce or eliminate lateral play between the selector and the inertia block.

To select one barrel or the other, therefore, it is necessary only to assure that selector 69 is in a rearmost position in slot 67, and then to slide the selector from side to side in slot 67 to the side corresponding to the barrel it is desired to fire, after which the selector is slid forwardly until finger 75 enters one or the other of slots 93. Once finger 75 is in the selected slot 93, tongue 95 keeps it there against lateral shifting. It will therefore be clear that tongue 95 should be of a length such that the length of slot 67 to the rear of tongue 95 is at least as great as the greatest lengthwise extent of both of fingers 75 and 77.

In FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, the selector block is shown according to the prior art and is accordingly designated by reference numeral 83'. As can be seen from a comparison of FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, a number of things can go wrong with the operation of this selector mechanism. In the first place, if selector 69 is not pushed all the way to one side or the other, finger 75 will contact the rear end of tongue 95 and be prevented from traveling farther forward, whereupon the gun will balk, that is, the trigger will be pulled but neither barrel will fire because connector 19 rises to the rear of scar tail piece 17. On the other hand, if the selector is carelessly manipulated, it may cant sideways and jam against connector block 83'. The close proximity of fingers 75 and 77 to block 83' on either side thereof has some tendency to maintain fingers 75 and 77 in longitudinal alignment with the firing mechanism, but the degree to which fingers 75 and 77 can coact with a prior art block such as 83 to this end of course limited by how close the fingers can be made to the block; and this in turn poses further problems of jamming and interference between parts 75, 77 and 83 that are intended to move relative to each other.

The present invention sweeps away these prior art difiiculties, however, in part by provision of a new selector block 83 best seen in FIGURE 8. Block 83 of the present invention is characterized by a cylindrical bore 99 l therethrough extending from front to rear of block 83.

A ball 161 is disposed in each end of bore 99 and a coil compression spring 163 in bore 99 continuously yieldably urges the ball away from each other. FIGURES 9, l0 and 11 show the operation of the new selector block in a firearm that is otherwise unmodified from the form of the firearms that are used at present. As is shown in FIGURE 9, the safety selector is in the forward or on position for the under barrel; FIGURE 10 shows the safety selector in full and phantom line in the two safe or off positions; while FIGURE 11 shows the selector in the position to fire the over barrel. It will be noted that the positions of the safety selector and the configuration of slot 67 are essentially the same in FIGURES 9, 10 and 11 as in prior art FIGURES 5, 6 and 7. It is in the achievement and the maintenance of these positions of the safety selector, however, that the present invention is a large advance over the prior art arrangement of FIG- URES 5, 6 and 7. In the present invention the improved selector block 83 provides an over-center snap action for the selector as it moves between the positions shown in full and phantom line, or vice versa, in FIGURE 10. The gun will not balk with the new selector block 83 because balls 101 urge fingers 75 and 77 firmly to one side or the other of slot 76 against one or the other of the side walls of slot 67.

The fingers 75 and 77, in turn, function to retain balls 191 in bore 99 against the action of spring 163. Indeed no other ball retainer is needed. This is because the points on balls 191 that are closest to the side walls of slot 67 are spaced in from those side walls a distance less than the thickness of fingers 75 and 77, so that even when balls 161 are firmly urging fingers 75 and 77 against one or the other of the side walls of slot 67, there still will not be room for the balls to escape past the fingers 75 and 77.

Still another advantage of the improved selector block 83 of the present invention is that it assures that selector 69 cannot become canted or misaligned in slot 67. Fingers 75 and 77 are each pressed by an individual ball 101 firmly against the side walls 67. If the side walls of slot 67 are parallel to each other and to the lengthwise extent of the firearm, which is a condition very easy to achieve during manufacture, then balls 101 will assure that fingers 75 and 77 are properly aligned relative to the firing mechanism, with the result that fingers 75 and 77 cannot bind either against selector block 83 or within slots 93 and that no other portion of selector 69 can cant and jam.

As is apparent from the above discussion, therefore, the present invention can be practiced in firearms of existing structure merely by modifying the selector block 83 of FIGURES 5-7. However, the present invention provides a still further advantage, in that instead of modifying existing structures, the structure of the firearm and its mode of manufacture can be simplified by omitting tongue 95 from slot 67, so that slot 67 is simply rectangular. This modification is shown in FIGURE 12 of the drawing, in which it will be seen that the selector 69 may be snapped from side to side of the front end of the slot as well as from side to side of the rear end of the slot. It is therefore no longer necessary, in order to move from the position of firing the under barrel to the position of firing the over barrel or vice versa to draw back the selector, move it laterally to the other side, and then push it forward into the other firing position. The change of firing position can simply be made with the selector at the front of slot 67, the spring urged balls 101 in that case performing the function previously performed by the tongue 95 in the prior art construction.

In short, therefore, the present invention, when applied to existing structures, guards against undesired balks upon forward movement of the selector, and also guards against camming or jamming of the selector with respect to the selector block. In a modified form, also, the invention permits simplification of existing structure by causing the selector block to perform the function previously performed by a tongue fixed on the upper tang piece, and also permits a simplified operation of side-toside selection in the forward or on position of the selector.

In view of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will be obvious that all of the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a firearm having a plurality of barrels and a hammer and a sear for each barrel and a connector movable laterally selectively to engage one of the sears and a trigger for moving the connector to move said one sear to release one of the hammers to fire a selected barrel, and having a selector that straddles guide means and is movable laterally along the guide means into conjunction with a selected one of the scars; the improvement comprising a pair of members projecting from opposite sides of the guide means and means resiliently urging said members apart thereby to urge'the selector into one or another of 'said'lateral positions with an overcenter snap action.

2. A firearm as claimed-in claim 1, said members comprising balls and the last-named means comprising a coil compression spring between the balls.

3. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, portions of the selector restraining said members against extreme movement in opposite directions in each of said plurality of positions.

4. In a firearm having a plurality of barrels and a hammer and a sear for each barrel and a connector movable laterally selectively to engage one of the sears and a trigger for moving the connector to move said one sear to release one of the hammers to fire a selected barrel, and having a selector movable laterally between a plurality of positions for moving the connector laterally into conjunction with a selected one of the sears, the selector being movable forwardly and rearwardly for permitting the connector to and preventing the connector from engaging the selected sear, respectively; the improvement comprising a pair of members projecting from opposite sides of the guide means and means resiliently urging said members apart thereby to urge the selector into one or another of said lateralpositions with an overcenter snap action at least in a'rearward position of the selector. I

5. A firearm as claimed in claim 4, said members comprising balls and the last-named means comprising a coil compression spring between the'balls.

6. A firearm as claimed in claim 4, portions of the selector restraining said members against extreme movement in opposite directions in each of said plurality of positions.

7. In a firearm having a plurality of barrels and a hammer and a sear for each barrel and a connector movable laterally selectively to engage one of the sears and a trigger for moving the connector to move said one sear to release one of the hammers to fire a selected barrel, and having a selector that straddles guide means and is movable laterally along the guide means into conjunction with a selected one of the scars, the selector and guide means being conjointly movable forwardly and rearwardly for permitting the connector to and preventing the connector from engaging the selected sear, respectively; the improvement comprising a pairof members projecting from opposite sides of the guidemeans and means resiliently urging said members apart "thereby to urge the selector into one or another of said lateral positions with an over-center snap action at least in a rearward position .of the selector.

.a trigger for moving the connector to move said one sear to release one of the hammers to fire a selected barrel, and having a selector movable laterally in a slot between a plurality ofpositions for moving the connector laterally into conjunction with a selected one of the sears, the selector being movable forwardly and rearwardly in the slot for permitting the connector to and preventing the connector from engaging the selected sear, respectively; the improvement comprising means resiliently urging the selector into one or another or" said lateral positions with an over-center snap action both in a forward and in a rearward position of the selector, the selector being laterally movable between opposite sides of the slot both in a rearward position and in a forward position of the selector in the-slot.

11. A firearm as claimed in claim 10, the last-named means comprising a pair of members projecting from opposite sides of the guide means, and means resiliently urging the members apart.

12. A firearm as claimed in claim 11, said members comprising balls and the last-named means comprising a coil compression spring disposed between the balls.

13. A firearm as claimed in claim 11, portions of the selector restraining said members against extreme movement in opposite directions in each of said plurality of positions.

14. A firearm as claimed in claim 12, portions of the selector restraining the balls against extreme movement in opposite directions in each of said plurality of positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 594,863 Eiterich Dec. 7, 1897 2,233,861 Browning Mar. 4, 1941 3,0l6;645 Miller et al. Jan. 16, 1962 OTHER REFERENCES Walther: German application 1,034,513, printed July 17,1958 (Kl 72a 19/07), 2 pp. spec; 1sht.dwg. 

1. IN A FIREARM HAVING A PLURALITY OF BARRELS AND A HAMMER AND A SEAR FOR EACH BARREL AND A CONNECTOR MOVABLE LATERALLY SELECTIVELY TO ENGAGE ONE OF THE SEARS AND A TRIGGER FOR MOVING THE CONNECTOR TO MOVE SAID ONE SEAR TO RELEASE ONE OF THE HAMMERS TO FIRE A SELECTED BARREL, AND HAVING A SELECTOR THAT STRADDLES GUIDE MEANS AND IS MOVABLE LATERALLY ALONG THE GUIDE MEANS INTO CONJUNCTION WITH A SELECTED ONE OF THE SEARS; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A PAIR OF MEMBERS PROJECTING FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE GUIDE MEANS AND MEANS RESILIENTLY URGING SAID MEMBERS APART THEREBY TO URGE THE SELECTOR INTO ONE OR ANOTHER OF SAID LATERAL POSITION WITH AN OVERCENTER SNAP ACTION. 